University of Alabama Desegregated

1963

University of Alabama desegregated

Born on This Day

Jacques Cousteau

Jacques Cousteau

1910 - 1997

French oceanographer, filmmaker and inventor who brought audiences with him as he explored undersea worlds.

Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "UNFROSTED"- Arrivals

Peter Dinklage

1969 -

Actor and star of TV's "Game of Thrones," and films including "The Station Agent," "Elf" and "Cyrano."

2024 Phoenix Mercury Media Day

Diana Taurasi

1982 -

Winner of six consecutive women's basketball Olympic gold medals with Team USA; she also captured three WNBA titles.

1919

JUN

11

Three-year-old Sir Barton wins the Belmont stakes, becoming the first horse to earn the coveted American Triple Crown. Amazingly, the thoroughbred had never notched a single career win until that year’s Kentucky Derby.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on June 11th

323 bc

Alexander the Great dies

Alexander the Great, the young Macedonian military genius who forged an empire stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to India, dies in Babylon, in present-day Iraq, at the age of 32. Born in Macedonia to King Phillip II and Queen Olympias, Alexander received a classical education from famed philosopher Aristotle and a military education from his […]

1509

Henry VIII marries his first wife, Catherine of Aragon

King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon, the first of six wives he will have in his lifetime. When Catherine failed to produce a male heir, Henry divorced her against the will of the Roman Catholic Church, thus precipitating the Protestant Reformation in England. Henry went on to have five more wives; two […]

1776

Congress appoints Committee of Five to draft the Declaration of Independence

On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress selects Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut and Robert R. Livingston of New York to draft a declaration of independence. They have come to be known as the Committee of Five. Knowing Jefferson’s prowess with a pen, Adams […]

1788

Russian explorer Izmailov arrives at Yakutat Bay, Alaska

Searching for sea otter pelts and other furs, the Russian explorer Gerasim Grigoriev Izmailov reaches the Alaskan coast, setting his ship in at Yakutat Bay. Although most Americans think of the exploration of the Far West as an affair that began in the East and proceeded westward, the opposite was true for Russians. In the […]

1944

John F. Kennedy receives medal for gallantry

Lieutenant John F. Kennedy receives the Navy and Marine Corps Medal—one of the Navy’s highest honors for gallantry—for his heroic actions as the commanding officer of a motor torpedo boat during World War II on June 11, 1944. The future president also received a Purple Heart for wounds received during battle. As a young man, Kennedy […]

1949

Hank Williams Sr., makes his Grand Ole Opry debut

On June 11, 1949, country singer Hank Williams Sr., takes to the microphone of the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast for the first time. That debut remains one of the most famous in the history of the legendary live country-music performance program. He electrified a live audience at Ryman Auditorium that called Williams out for […]

1955

Race car at Le Mans crashes into spectators, killing 83

On June 11, 1955, a racing car in Le Mans, France, goes out of control and crashes into stands filled with spectators, killing 83 people, including the driver, Frenchman Pierre Levegh. The tragedy in the famous 24-hour endurance race led to a ban on racing in several nations. The Le Mans race, organized by France’s […]

1963

Buddhist immolates himself in protest

Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc publicly burns himself to death in a plea for President Ngo Dinh Diem to show “charity and compassion” to all religions. Diem, a Catholic who had been oppressing the Buddhist majority, remained stubborn despite continued Buddhist protests and repeated U.S. requests to liberalize his government’s policies. More Buddhist monks immolated […]

1979

John Wayne dies

On June 11, 1979, John Wayne, an iconic American film actor famous for starring in countless westerns, dies at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade. The actor was born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa, and moved as a child to Glendale, California. A football star at Glendale […]

1982

“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” released

Then 34-year-old director Steven Spielberg reportedly drew on his own experiences as an unusually imaginative, often-lonely child of divorce for his science-fiction classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which is released on June 11, 1982. For Spielberg, E.T. marked a return to territory he had first visited with the classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), […]

1989

China issues warrant for Tiananmen dissident sheltering in U.S. embassy

In the wake of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, China issues a warrant for a leading Chinese dissident who had taken refuge in the U.S. embassy in Beijing. The diplomatic standoff lasted for a year, and the refusal of the United States to hand the dissident over to Chinese officials was further evidence of […]

History Every Day

Sign Up for "This Day in History"

Uncover fascinating moments from the past every day! Learn something new with key events in history, from the American Revolution to pop culture, crime and more.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details: Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us